Scouting Report: Kevin White, CB

Even if Revis stays, is corner a position that could be looked at in the draft for the Patriots?

NEPD Staff Writer: Mike Gerken

As Patriots fans, we learned this season just how important it is to have great corners. Darrelle Revis showed us that having a true shutdown corner can elevate a team from a contender to a champion. We have all heard the saying you can never have too much of a good thing, well that applies to corners in the NFL. Even if the Patriots do keep Revis (please do!) that doesn’t mean they are set at the position. Alfonzo Dennard took a big step backwards this year and Logan Ryan had more bad moments than good. Even Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler is still an unknown commodity that may struggle to make the team next season. I have been focusing this week on corners trying to get my positional rankings done(look for that article later this week), but I thought I would highlight one more player.

Name: Kevin White

School: TCU (Sr.)

Height: 5’9″

Weight: 180 Lbs

Positives:

White was a dependable corner in college that was consistently asked to cover the other team’s best receiver. He shows good speed to keep up with receivers on go routes. White also plays with good technique and balance, getting inside position on deep balls and forcing the receiver towards the sideline. He has good strength in his lower body and minimizes his height deficiencies with a good vertical. White will fight through blocks and stick his nose in to make a tackle in the run game. White also gets his head around,locates the ball well and has good hands to finish the play. In the play below, you see how White is able to run with the receiver, get great position and really doesn’t get the bigger receiver a chance to make a play on the ball.

The obvious negative for White is his size. He does play bigger than his size, but at his height and weight, he does get pushed around by bigger players. White also is stiff in and out of breaks and struggles with quicker receivers and more polished route runners. In the play below, you can see how he struggles with the route the receiver is running. He gets himself turned the wrong direction, not once, but twice on the same play. Luckily for him, the play went the other way, but it is concern.

White jumped on the radar with his performance against the other Kevin White, when he held the potential first round pick to just 3 catches for 28 yards. It was one of many great performance he had this year, but to be honest, after watching several games, I am not sure where to put him. On one hand, his strengths make you want to put him on the outside, but can he hold up against the bigger wide receivers in the NFL? His size says that maybe he should move inside to the nickel role, but his stiff hips makes me question if he can stay with quicker receivers who can change direction quickly. I lean towards leaving him on the outside in off coverage and see if he can still win with his speed, technique, and athleticism. For Patriots fans, he reminds me of Ellis Hobbs with better down field coverage ability. He has a NFL skillset and if he can go to a team that can use him correctly, he can be solid contributor. I give him a Day 2 grade with an eye on the 3rd round.

Lots of pre combine mocks showing up and many are begging for flashy skill players without concerns for our real needs. I’ve seen nothing so far that changes my views on the first half of the draft, rds 1 -3 though many late rd prospects are coming to light and are interesting. However with the combined coming up shortly things could change but until then I’m holding off on another mock.

as has become common knowledge, the patriots big board is always much shorter than the nfl average. in doing research on this draft, that will again be the case this year. here is a draft i did over at fanspeak.com that i think is a realistic turnout.

the hardest picks to make were – when to take the offensive lineman and finding a good spot for a receiver. the more i look, the more i like philip dorsett. pundits vary on where his stock is, between first and 4th. in time it seems he will rise more, he looks like a freak. i chose clive the TE over going early on dorsett. this offesense relies heavy on the te and if gronk were to go down again, we wouldn’t be completely lost ala afc champ game 2 years ago. also, the LB from kansas heeney looks like a legit patriot.

I’m not in favor of TE early as it does not met any need. I like Daryl Williams because I feel he an move inside and fill a big need there. Humphries on the other hand I think is an OT not suited to move inside, could be wrong but just what I think.

If White has a good showing at the combine at the 40 (sub 4.45) and 3-cone (sub 6.90), he could sneak into the 1st day of the draft. His size might be a disadvantage against WRs taller than 6’2″, but I think he could lock down smaller WRs outside or in the slot.

the last thing we need is another undersized corner…. haven’t we learned from the Seahawks and having Browner for a season? The Seahawks destroyed us for most of the second and third quarters with some undrafted bum simply because Ryan and Arrington are shorter than the average high school boy

It is really hard to say what the pats should do draft wise, until we see what they do free agency wise. With that being said I’ve given the team a really hard look and I feel that a Vince Wilfork replacement should be the first selection. I would like to see Vince stay another season to show the new kid how it works, similar to Ted Washington showing him. The pats like to be a year ahead in replacing players. I know a strong case can be made for guard and I would like to see one of the first 2 or 3 picks on that position, but The patriots never over react to a perceived weakness. Yes the Oline was terrible in the first 4 weeks of the season but they were good enough to get better and good enough to win the Super Bowl. In fact every year the pats have won the Super Bowl they did it with role players on the Oline. I think Solder will come back stronger, Vollmer is a top notch RT. Stork is the real deal and should get even better. Ryan Wendall can be your worst olineman at G, with the ability to play C if stork gets hurt. The pats should let Cannon play G all offseason, something they should have done last year. I put Fleming in this category too a smart player who will be better. Kline is still here and Connolly is unsigned, let him go, draft a guard fairly early to replace him and you have a really solid unit. Many will disagree but I’m going DT first yall. Actually a G in the 1st three rds is the only offensive position I would take, I’d go defense heavy and that is assuming Revis and McCourtey resign.

Typically when it comes down to guards, the Patriots will draft a tackle that might lack long arms, tall stature, or is a mauling run blocker. Most guard prospects are probably a tackle with similar dimensions to Logan Mankins or Bryan Stork.

Here’s my idea of a Patriots mock draft where they trade up for another second round pick.

Pats trade picks 96, 128*, 192*, and 194* for San Francisco 49ers pick 47.
Pats get another second-rounder to make use of their many picks and few needs, Niners get to use the four picks that they get here to rebuild in the wake of Jim Harbaugh’s departure following a disappointing 8-8 season.

The more and more I think about it, the interior lineman, edge rushers, and running backs are the most talented positions in this year draft. I think they have to pick an interior lineman, or an edge rusher, with their first pick.

Updated mock:

1. Arik Armstead DT/DE- A project, but he reminds me a lot of Calais Campbell. High-profiled recruit coming out of high school.
2. Tevin Coleman RB- Could be a workhorse back, and could provide Pats with necessary personal to consistently operate out of 2 TE sets.
3. Grady Jarrett DT- A little undersized, but disruptive. All ACC consistently, commanded lots of double teams and extra focus on a team with lots of line, edge talent.
3. Ty Montgomery WR- Value. Always seemed to make himself known whenver I watched him. Feel like he’s being undervalued because of drops, Senior Bowl measurables, and Kevin Hogan’s poor play.

John you point out o-line as a need then omit one in your mock. Instead you go for RB and WR. No thanks, not needs for us. Our cap money should be used for Revis, McCourty and Gostkowski plus our FA’s as far as it will go. Doubt we can go shopping for vet ‘s this year.

If the Patriots get their guys signed, there will be very limited money for free agents. But one guy I like is LB Casey Matthews from Philly. Matthews saw playing time because of an injury to the starter at LB, so not sure he will get a big offer from Philly. I think the guy has a great up-side if the Patriots could get him.

LB Matthews was a big liability on the Eagles D whenever he got playing time due to injuries to their starters. I honestly don’t see a point in bringing in a player like that – rather see them go with they already have or UDFA at the position.

why is it that we draft corners that have a good to pretty good first year, then fall back subsequent years. Look at Mccourty, Ryan and to some degree Dennard. All had pretty good first years. Especially Mccourty. Would have to look at cornerback coaching here, Look at where Josh Boyer has coached and his record, not pretty. I hope that Butler continues to grow and doesnt fall back. Outside of the pick in the superbowl, he played pretty well.

I do not believe we should draft a corner before Day 3 unless Revis goes. When we already have two strong cover men (Browner and Revis), a good slot corner (Arrington), and a developing young player (Ryan), I really don’t see the need for a selection on Day 1 or Day 2 when our O-Line and D-Line need help. From many reports, White will be gone by Day 3, so I can’t endorse an effort to draft him.

Throw in Dennard and Butler and I don’t see a low round draft pick CB making the roster if Revis stays. If he leaves though it will become a top priority, which is a concern because o and d line are already such glaring needs. I think this just reinforces the idea that they need to make an extension with Revis work.

Dennard’s cap hit is expected to increase significantly – related to % of snaps played in first 2 years or so for late round draft picks, iirc. Considering Butler’s coming out party, I doubt he makes the roster.
Low-cost free agents at CB, the ones that have anything left anyway, usually still cost a pretty penny considering the value of the position.

I think Pats would need to draft a FS/CB type player starting with the mid-rounds (assuming Revis stays) also because they would benefit from adding another bigger, more physical type of player to the secondary, besides Browner and Revis. The way things are right now, the opposition’s 3rd WR, more precisely when he happens to be a bigger-bodied type player, way too often creates a mismatch for the D that can be exploited by any decent QB.

Not sure why Dennards pay should go up significantly as he was injured all of 14 and has had troubles staying on the field all along. Can we really expect other teams will come calling with big time offers or am I wrong? If we fail to resign Revis then the picture changes a bit, but as of now I’m not convinced.

I think you hit the many depth needs going into next year. Obviously we have to look at the free agents (who we sign and who departs) but I might add one wide receiver to the list. This draft is considered deep in receiver talent and with at least one compensatory pick coming this way TB can have another big body to stretch the field (Dobson appears to be a bust and Amendola may or may not be here).

Taking a TE then a CB 1-2 at positions not needed is a waste of picks imo. Then you go after o-line, a position of major need way down. Makes no sense. Drafting o-line in mid/low rounds is why we are in the position we are. Our needs are o-line and d-line.

Steve, I feel the Patriots can be aggressive in this draft as they have just won the Super Bowl.
Teaming Williams with Gronk would be nice. Rollins to learn from Revis would add to secondary. Its a very deep draft a 3rd or 4th round lineman can be very valuable.
Should be interesting to see what Pats do.

although i differ a bit on the idea of not getting OL relatively early, i definitely agree with the idea of being aggressive and go for Maxx Williams. I ve been lauging at the idea of funchess as the 1st pick, because he s a joke and a clown, but Maxx Williams hell yeah! he s indeed a playmaker. Im actually crossing fingers he d be our 1st pick

Dan with all due respect I think being aggressive is filling a glaring need with top notch prospects rather then adding to positions of strength with guys destined to having to fight for playing time in sub pkg’s. It’s not the positions you draft it’s how much impact/ improvement they project to give the team.

I don’t see how Rollins lasts to #64. If he runs in the 4.4s he might go L1-E2 depending on if teams view him as a CB or a FS (I think he’s more suited for a FS role where his lack of length isn’t exploited as much)